Anchorage news

• Captain rescued from capsize near Kodiak jumps back in to save a crewman

  25-07-2017 23:14
  A capsized fishing vessel’s captain jumped back into frigid waters north of Kodiak after being rescued to save one of his crewmen, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
  The dramatic rescue, caught on camera by a rescue helicopter, took place Monday afternoon in Kupreanof Strait according to a statement from Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer 1st Class Bill Colclough.
  A call came in reporting that the Grayling had capsized near Raspberry Island from a responding good Samaritan vessel, the Cal
  
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• Ekwok substance use disorder recovery program teaches subsistence skills to fight addiction

  25-07-2017 22:54 via ktoo.org
  The Ekwok community arrives for a wellness camp graduation ceremony Friday. Ekwok Lodge, hosted the 30-day camp, where participants fought alcohol and drug addition with fishing and berry picking. (Photo by Avery Lill/KDLG)
  Behind the Ekwok Lodge, the smell of soured salmon and pig muck hang in the air.
  Despite the odor, Ben smiles shyly as he points out the nails in wooden boards that surround the pen, which stick out to deter bears.
  “We feed them fish and other leftover foods. You hear t
  
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• Ekwok recovery program teaches subsistence skills to fight addiction

  25-07-2017 22:54 via ktoo.org
  The Ekwok community arrives for a wellness camp graduation ceremony Friday. Ekwok Lodge, hosted the 30-day camp, where participants fought alcohol and drug addition with fishing and berry picking. (Photo by Avery Lill/KDLG)
  Behind the Ekwok Lodge, the smell of soured salmon and pig muck hang in the air.
  Despite the odor, Ben smiles shyly as he points out the nails in wooden boards that surround the pen, which stick out to deter bears.
  “We feed them fish and other leftover foods. You hear t
  
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• Newscast – Tuesday, July 25, 2017

  25-07-2017 22:52 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/07/20170725-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  The Alaska Legislature announces plan to return to pass a capital budget,
  the U.S. Senate gets the votes needed to debate health care, and
  Talkeetna’s unofficial mayor, Stubbs the cat, dies.
  
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• Reassigned climate official worries “nobody home” on village relocation

  25-07-2017 22:23 via ktoo.org
  In June, the Washington Post reported that dozens of senior officials in the Department of the Interior would be reassigned to new jobs. Now one of those officials is speaking out. Joel Clement was part of a working group, focused on village relocation and coastal resilience in Alaska. He thinks he was targeted for his views on climate change.
  Joel Clement was a director at the Office of Policy Analysis. For over a year, he’d been meeting with different agencies about how to protect Alaska
  
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• EPISODE 6 • When the lights went out – Alaska’s great recession

  25-07-2017 22:02 via ktoo.org
  Less than ten years after oil started flowing, Alaska’s economy cratered. The recession was quick and deep. Ten banks failed, real estate values plummeted and tens of thousands of people fled the state. It was Alaska’s great recession, 20 years before the rest of the country went through almost the same thing.
  
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• Afognak Island elk study looks at balancing logging with game management

  25-07-2017 21:55 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Roosevelt elk, the type of elk found on Afognak Island. (Creative Commons photo by Dan Dzurisin/Flickr
  A study of elk and bears on an island in the Kodiak Archipelago will try to help balance game management and logging.
  http://kmxt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Elk-Study-Desroches-July-25.mp3The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and its partners, including Kodiak area Native corporations, are at the beginning of a two-and-a-half year, $1.8 million study on Afognak Island.
  Researchers hope it
  
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• Chiniak’s burn area is looking pretty green after replanting

  25-07-2017 21:25 via ktoo.org
  A Sitka spruce seedling emerges from the ground where the Chiniak fire left a burn area in 2015. (Photo courtesy Maggie Slife)
  Kodiak Island Borough resource manager and officer Maggie Slife was part of a group that went out on a rainy day to inspect the completed replanting of the burn area the Chiniak fire left behind in 2015.
  Recently, crews planted 200,000 Sitka spruce seedlings in the area. Slife said things looked good, but it’ll take some time before the burn area fully grows b
  
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• Senate opens debate on health care reform, despite ‘no’ vote from Murkowski

  25-07-2017 20:54
  Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, voted against opening Senate debate on health care reform in a highly anticipated decision Tuesday — but the final decision was ultimately made by Vice President Mike Pence.
  CBS News reported that Murkowski, along with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) opposed opening debate on the American Health Care Act on Tuesday afternoon in Washington, D.C. The Senate’s vote on the motion to proceed ultimately resulted in a 50-50 tie, which was br
  
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• Murkowski votes against opening debate on health care reform

  25-07-2017 20:54
  Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, voted against opening Senate debate on health care reform in a highly anticipated decision Tuesday.
  CBS News reported that Murkowski, along with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted against opening debate on the American Health Care Act on Tuesday afternoon.
  A third GOP defection on the motion to proceed would doom it to failure, CBS reported, as voting continued Tuesday. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) subsequently voted y
  
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• Former wrestling maven turned Trump Cabinet member tours Kwethluk School

  25-07-2017 20:48 via ktoo.org
  Small Business Administration Alaska District Office Director Nancy Porzio, left, tours Kwethluk school with former wrestling maven and SBA Administrator Linda McMahon and Ana Hoffman. (Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos/KYUK)
  A member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet visited the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta last week.
  Linda McMahon is the head of the Small Business Administration, or SBA, and she spent Friday morning in Bethel touring local facilities and meeting with local business owners and CEOs a
  
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• King crab fishery to open for 5 days in Juneau area

  25-07-2017 20:36
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – It has been six years since it was legal to catch and haul home a pot full of red or blue king crab out of Juneau area waters.
  KTOO Public Media reports the Department of Fish and Game said Friday in a release the summer personal use red and blue king crab fishery will open for five days: Thursday through Monday.
  The order is for Gastineau Channel, Stephens Passage and part of Lynn Canal.
  The agency is opening the fishery at a reduced harvest level. It will allow each
  
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• Immigrant trapped in stifling San Antonio trailer says they shared one breathing hole

  25-07-2017 19:09
  We’re hearing the first accounts from survivors of human smuggling tragedy in San Antonio Texas. They describe their journey from Mexico to the back of a sweltering tractor trailer.
  When Adan Lara Vega and six people climbed into the back of that trailer in Laredo, Texas, he says it was pitch black and already full.
  An hour into the trip, Vega says people started “crying and asking for water.” And as the trailer got hotter, he says people fell into despair.
  Investigat
  
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• Kodiak mayor not pleased with plans for city’s DA position

  25-07-2017 16:58
  KODIAK, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska city’s district attorney’s office is down its lead position, and officials say a replacement will not be hired.
  The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Monday the Director of the Alaska Department of Law’s Criminal Division, John Skidmore, says instead of hiring another district attorney to replace former Kodiak District Attorney Steve Wallace, a second assistant district attorney will be hired for the Kodiak office.
  Wallace took over as the new d
  
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• Reports: Trump discussing firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions

  25-07-2017 16:38
  WASHINGTON — President Trump has spoken with advisers about firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions as he continues to rage against Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from all matters related to the Russia investigation, according to reports.
  The president’s anger again bubbled into public view Monday as he referred to Sessions in a tweet as “beleaguered.”
  Privately, Mr. Trump has speculated aloud to allies in recent days about the potential consequences of fir
  
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• Community mourns the loss of Bartlett sophomore

  25-07-2017 08:59
  Tragedy struck the Hmong and Bartlett High School community last week, as 16-year-old Mlooglug Chervang succumbed to injuries related to a swimming accident.  
  The sophomore at Bartlett was a member of the football team and very involved in his school’s performing arts programs.  
  “He kinda represented what we want kids to be like in our program,” said Bartlett football co-head coach John Jessen. “He was humble, he was hard working, he was unselfish. And he didn
  
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• Last baby orca born in captivity at SeaWorld park dies, company says

  25-07-2017 08:36
  The last orca to be born at SeaWorld is seen swimming with mother Takara at the SeaWorld in San Antonio shortly after birth in April 2017. SEAWORLD/TWITTER
  ORLANDO, Fla. — The last killer whale born in captivity under SeaWorld’s former orca-breeding program died Monday at the company’s San Antonio park, SeaWorld said.
  Veterinarians were treating 3-month-old Kyara for an infection last weekend, but her health continued to decline, the Orlando-based company sa
  
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• The pressure is on Alaska’s senators ahead of Tuesday’s healthcare vote

  25-07-2017 08:25
  Alaskans are continuing to pressure their senators to stand against overhauling the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and they also want them to vote “no” on Tuesday’s procedural vote to open debate on a healthcare reform bill.
  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for a motion to proceed and Senate Republicans are trying to get at least 50 votes to move forward.
  “We don’t know which bill that will be, which is part of our concern,” Becky Hultberg with Ala
  
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• How the SAP project went from $10 Million to $81.5 Million in 6 years

  25-07-2017 05:02
  It’s been called an expensive, monster of a project and it’s about to eat up another $5.8 million. That’s the amount Anchorage Assembly members will be asked to approve Tuesday night, to wrap up the controversial SAP software project that’s years overdue, and millions of taxpayer dollars over budget.
  When former Mayor Dan Sullivan proposed the project to Assembly members in 2011, it came with a price tag of just under $10 million and was supposed to be ready to go wi
  
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• Sales tax could double for some Mat-Su communities

  25-07-2017 04:45
  No one likes to pay taxes, but people who live in the Mat-Su may find themselves paying a lot more if propositions for new sales taxes go through.
  The cities of Palmer, Houston and Wasilla already have city sales taxes but residents might also decide to pay a new tax proposed by the Mat-Su Borough.
  The Borough is considering a first ever general sales tax of 3 percent. The majority of the money raised would help pay for Valley schools that are struggling with an $11 million budget deficit.
  Mat-S
  
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• Capital budget compromise unlikely to restore PFDs, address oil and gas tax credits

  25-07-2017 04:16 via ktoo.org
  Alaskans file their Permanent Fund dividend applications in downtown Anchorage in March 2016. (Photo by Rachel Waldholz/Alaska Public Media)
  The Legislature will return to Juneau on Thursday to vote on a capital budget that senators and House members have agreed to.
  Soldotna Republican Sen. Peter Micciche said the bill is unlikely to address the most contentious issues: Permanent Fund dividends and oil and gas tax credits.
  “Clearly those are going to be the most difficult issues that have
  
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• Story Time with Aunt Phil: Alaska crude oil’s explosive discovery

  25-07-2017 04:04
  Richfield Oil Corporation found crude on the Kenai Peninsula this week in July 1957. That discovery helped Alaska on its way to statehood two years later, as Congress believed that Alaska would now be able to fund its own government.
  But that wasn’t the first time Alaskans had found oil. Alaska Natives used the black wealth oozing out of the hills and beaches long before white men came north. Northern Natives burned the tar-like chips, Southeastern Natives used it for war paint and others
  
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• Attorney General’s Office: Door-to-door paving scam warning

  25-07-2017 03:40
  The Attorney General’s Office is warning Alaskans of a misleading sales scam that could come knocking at your door.
  According to a release from the Attorney General’s Office, there are individuals, or companies going door-to-door, offering misleading paving services that violate the Door-To-Door Sales provision and the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act.
  Officials say these scammers are not Alaska residents. They are going door-to-door claiming they are
  
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• Mural at Alaska Pacific University almost finished

  25-07-2017 03:20
  A mural in Alaska Pacific University’s Atwood Center was in its last stages Monday afternoon.
  Artist Andrew Morrison started the project Wednesday. Since Friday, he’s been painting six to seven hours a day.
  The mural is a representation of the tribal people that live in Alaska. It consists of images of Native Americans throughout the state. Each tribal region is represented on different panels of the mural.
  The mural’s cultural significance is historic to the state of Alas
  
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• Marine debris won’t stop, but neither will those cleaning it up

  25-07-2017 02:44 via ktoo.org
  Marine debris neatly organized before it’s rebagged and weighed. Photo by Aaron Bolton / KBBI News
  Millions of pounds of plastic debris washes up on the Gulf of Alaska’s remote shores each year. It washes up faster than it can be collected and clean-up efforts cost millions. That can seem overwhelming for volunteers who are out there year after year, cleaning the same beaches. But, one man doesn’t let that discourage him in the slightest.
   Chris Pallister is president of G
  
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• APD finds missing adult with medical issues

  25-07-2017 02:08
  Anchorage Police say they have found the missing 41-year-old adult male with medical issues.
  According to a Nixle alert, Randall Wayne Anderson was been missing for approximately ten days.
  Police say there is a concern for his well-being because he has the mentality of a 12-year-old and has medical issues that require medication.
  The Nixle alert was sent out at 3:49 p.m. At 4:21 p.m. an update was sent saying Randall was found safe and sound.
   
  The post APD finds missing adul
  
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• Talkeetna’s feline ‘mayor’ Stubbs, passes away at 20

  25-07-2017 02:07 via ktoo.org
  Stubbs, often referred to as the “Mayor of Talkeetna.” Stubbs passed away late last week. (Photo courtesy of the Spone Family)
  Stubbs the cat passed away in the overnight hours between Thursday and Friday, according to his owners.
  For nearly two decades, Stubbs, so named due to his lack of a tail, was a regular sight for locals and visitors at Nagley’s General Store and the West Rib Pub and Grill.
  In that time, he went from being a store cat to receiving the title of “May
  
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• Bans on game harvest techniques currently under review

  25-07-2017 01:32 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Black bear. (Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
  The Trump administration has directed the National Park Service in Alaska and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to reconsider bans on certain state allowed game harvest techniques.
  July 14 memos to the directors of the two Alaska entities from Virginia Johnson, acting assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, tell them to initiate a new rule making process, in light of effects on sport and commercial hunting and trapping.http://media.a
  
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• APD: Runaway girls found

  25-07-2017 01:24
   
  Shyell Green (left) and Shayahna Lorance (right.) (Courtesy APD)
  APD is no longer searching for the two girls who went missing Sunday night.
  Anchorage Police sent out a Nixle Monday afternoon asking for the public’s help in locating two girls who haven’t been seen or heard from since they left their home sometime after 10 p.m. Sunday.
  According to a Nixle alert, 16-year-old Shyell Green and 8-year-old Shayahna Lorance were last seen leaving the 800 block of E. 75th Court.
  An u
  
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• Anchorage Police search for runaway girls

  25-07-2017 01:24
   
  Shyell Green (left) and Shayahna Lorance (right.) (Courtesy APD)
  APD is asking for the public’s help in locating two girls who haven’t been seen or heard from since they left their home sometime after 10 p.m. Sunday.
  According to a Nixle alert, 16-year-old Shyell Green and 8-year-old Shayahna Lorance were last seen leaving the 800 block of E. 75th Court.
  Police say Shyell is five-foot-three inches tall and 130 pounds. Shayahna is four-foot-six inches tall and 100 pounds.
  
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• Joplin pleads not guilty to murder, theft in Ketchikan doctor’s death

  25-07-2017 01:13 via ktoo.org
  Jordan Joplin leaves the courtroom in the Ketchikan State Building after he pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree murder. (Photo by Leila Kheiry/KRBD)
  A 32-year-old Washington state man pleaded not guilty Monday to first- and second-degree murder charges related to the March 16 death of Ketchikan surgeon Dr. Eric Garcia.
  Jordan Joplin arrived at the Ketchikan courthouse in handcuffs, ankle chains and a yellow jumpsuit, accompanied by an Alaska State Trooper.
  Friends of Garcia along
  
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• How 2 bodies in Swiss glacier stayed mummified for 75 years

  25-07-2017 00:58
  In this photo released by the Swiss train company Glacier 3000, shoes and clothing are visible at a Swiss glacier where two bodies were found. Police say the bodies of what appear to be two people killed in an accident decades ago have been recovered from a glacier in southwestern Switzerland. Valais Canton police say the bodies were found on the Tsanfleuron Glacier on Fri., July 14, 2017, at an altitude of 8,580 feet. GLACIER 3000/KEYSTONE VIA AP
  Last week, during a routine inspection tour, a s
  
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• Russian adventurers honor history during Dillingham visit

  25-07-2017 00:53 via ktoo.org
  The Russian team and the Dillingham residents who helped to place the monument at Nushagak pose with the American, Russian, and Alaskan flags. (Photo by Allison Mollenkam/KDLG)
  An expedition of Russian adventurers arrived Tuesday in Dillingham for their trip to retrace a route taken by historic Russian explorers.The Russian visitors were greeted in Dillingham by that most American of rituals, a potluck dinner.
  A packed house with more than 30 Dillingham residents came to meet the expedition
  
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• Narrow Cape missile launch scheduled for this weekend

  25-07-2017 00:25 via ktoo.org
  A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor is launched from the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak during flight test on July 11, 2017. The THAAD weapon system successfully intercepted an air-launched intermediate-range ballistic missile target. (Public domain photo by Leah Garton/Missile Defense Agency)
  Pilots and mariners have received alerts to watch out for a missile launch at the Narrow Cape launch facility this weekend.
  A Coast Guard legal notice to mariners warns vessels to
  
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• Consultants estimate economic loss if Skagway can’t dock bigger ships

  25-07-2017 00:25 via ktoo.org
  The Norwegian Pearl tied up at Skagway’s Broadway dock in July 2017. Two more cruise ships are moored at the railroad dock in the background. (Photo by Emily Files/KHNS)
  Skagway could miss out on $15 million to $30 million over 20 years if it doesn’t renovate its port for larger cruise ships, according to port consultants who delivered the message to residents last week.
  Even without the bigger ships, visitor revenue will increase.
  It’s difficult to overstate Skagway&rsquo
  
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• Driver facing murder charges in fatal July 4 crash in Petersburg

  25-07-2017 00:00 via ktoo.org
  A memorial for Marie Giesbrecht and Molly Parks near the crash site by South Harbor. (Photo by Joe Viechnicki/KFSK)
  The driver of a van that crashed July 4, 2016, in Petersburg has been charged with murder and manslaughter for the deaths of two of young women in that accident.
  A Juneau grand jury returned a five-count indictment Thursday against William Christopher “Chris” Allen, 24.
  Allen faces two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of manslaughter for allegedly causing
  
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